


Keep On Fighting

by 221Blinkandyouredead



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Depressed John, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, M/M, Post-Reichenbach, Songfic, Winglock, but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-27 18:44:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8412532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/221Blinkandyouredead/pseuds/221Blinkandyouredead
Summary: A post-Richenbach Johnlock AU. With Fight Song by Rachel Platten. I promise it's better than it sounds.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Basically the classic take on Johnlock after Richenbach if Mary and John hadn't stayed together. And I really wanted to do a Fight Song thing with Sherlock, so I just combined the ideas. Cross-posted on ffn.net. Also, it was supposed to have blooded and italicized words, but I can't figure out how to do that on this site, so the format looks kind of weird. Someone please help!

Like a small boat/On the ocean

"SHERLOCK!" He screams, but it won't hold his friend to Saint Bart's rooftop forever. No, the world's only consulting detective is now plummeting through the ashen sky. John is drowning in something that isn't water.

Sending big waves/Into motion

"Goodbye, John." Goodbye should be enough. He knows this will be worth it. Saving lives -especially John's- is far more important than sentiment. Dismantling Moriarty's network is a much better gift than a few touching syllables. Or an explanation. He hates himself for feeling like he really will hit the pavement.

Like how a single word/Can make a heart open

he's a hero he's a hero he's a hero why did I let him fall

John stands among the graves, staring at his dark and broken reflection in Sherlock's tombstone. He speaks to a silent, polished rock and begs his friend to stop. But Sherlock never does as he is told.

I might only have one match/But I can make an explosion/And all those things I didn't say/Were wrecking balls inside my brain

He watches his friend speak, as still as the trees that hide him. The words make Sherlock warm and cold at once. He feels something totally alien when he sees John weep for the first time. Good, he believes I'm dead. But he wanted to protect John from a pain that was different from a bullet wound. Look at what I've done to him.

He knows he'd be a fool to think John would be satisfied with his "note". He knows he should have said "you're my best friend" or "I'll miss playing the Game with you" or "this was not your fault" or even three stronger words that Sherlock had long ago decided could only end in disaster.

why can I never do this right? "Caring is not an advantage, Sherlock."

I will scream them loud tonight/Can you hear my voice this time?/This is my fight song

He wishes Sherlock had heard that stupid speech. Maybe he wouldn't have jumped if he had known.

Nothing will bring him back, so he stops trying. John sheds layers of Sherlock and leaves them behind, out of sight. 221B, Mrs. Hudson, his friends at Scotland Yard. He fills the holes in his heart with work and food and sleep and a woman who reminds him of him.

Take back my life song

He is doing this so he can come home.

Prove I'm alright song

John has clawed his way to the surface. He has mastered the art of okay. He is surviving just fine without him. He just wishes he could remember how to live. He grows a mustache as a substitute.

My power's turned on/Starting right now I'll be strong

Mycroft tells him to stop. "John Watson shall be your reward, brother mine. To earn him, you have to work a little. Murder, treachery, I would say this sort of holiday is just your cup of tea. Try to enjoy yourself."

Sherlock does. He throws himself into the Game and wins every time. His smart-ass deductions are his fearsome war cry. Whenever the blood surges through his veins it is accompanied by a burst of messy joy.

But it would be so much better if John were here to take part in these exploits.

I'll play my fight song/And I don't really care if nobody else believes

He is aquitted today, about two years too late. It is all over the newspapers that had betrayed him months ago. Why did he tell John that he was a fake? No one believed it, Sherlock. No one who matters.

'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me

"Mycroft, they exonerated me."

"You still can't go home, brother dear. There are so many dragons to slay where you are, and enough of Moriarty's people to continue posing a threat to your friends."

Losing friends and I'm chasing sleep/Everybody's worried about me

Today, John breaks up with Mary. A fancy restaurant doesn't make it hurt any less. He loves her, but he doesn't love her enough. He hates himself for fooling then both for long. It wasn't fair to be with her while he was still in love with a ghost.

I'm in too deep/Say I'm in too deep (in to deep)/And it's been two years/I miss my home

"Sherlock, sometimes I worry about you." Mycroft's knowing eyes pierce his brother's bloodied skin like briars.

"Obviously not enough to keep me from being beaten to a pulp." Sherlock retorted.

Ignoring this, Mycroft said, "Maybe he won't welcome you back into his life so easily."

"What life? I've been away." Oh, if only that were true.

But there's a fire burning in my bones/Still believe

Now he really is alone. John feels wild and hollow inside, a tangled, mangled mess of person. He is a cadaver like the ones Sherlock used to play with. Somehow, he is animated by duty and memories and pride. He wonders when this wicked spell will break.

Yeah I still believe

"Of course he still cares about me." Sherlock scowls at his reflection in the mirror, which is looking a little too lost for his taste.

And all those things I didn't say/Wrecking balls inside my brain

Oh God. Why didn't I tell him while I still had the chance. Some nights John couldn't breathe because of the weight of the unborn worlds, crumpling him.

I will scream them loud tonight/Can you hear my voice this time?

Sherlock rests his forehead against the cool glass, staring into those icy green eyes. His shoulders shake, but gently; the man even rules over the parts of himself that are broken.

This is my fight song

For the first time in weeks, John has a dream. Sherlock is falling again, but the black bellstaff that billows out behind him turns into a pair of magnificent wings. His curls, spun of midnight, seem like a halo in the sunlight. The detective is now suspended in the sky, and John suddenly knows that he won't ever hit the ground. He looks at John, and smiles that addictive smile. Sherlock stretches out his hand to him, and it isn't very hard for him to take, because he is growing wings as well, white as the clouds which are watching the pair. As the detective takes the doctor in his arms, John hears words that he has never heard before, but seem familiar all the same: I'm on the side of the angels.

Take back my life song/Prove I'm alright song

That night Sherlock has a dream of falling and flying and finding his way that even his genius brain cannot remember when he wakes.

My power's turned on/Starting right now I'll be strong

Despite -no, because of- the fact that he dreamed of angels and dead men, John takes this dream as a sign of life; something that brings him nothing but a nameless, worldless hope.

I'll play my fight song/And I don't really care if nobody else believes

He sheds his doubt like a long black coat. John, I'll be waiting.

'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me/A lot of fight left in me

He goes back to 221B because he knows what he's afraid of. Mrs. Hudson greets him with anger and tea. He leaves feeling full of something wonderful.

Like a small boat on the ocean

Sherlock is going home today.

Sending big waves into motion

John has gathered the strength to take himself out to a nice dinner. Table for one, at the same restaurant at which he broke it off with Mary. Only, he found out there really was someone else coming when a man with his coat collar turned up walked through the door.

Like how a single word/Can make a heart open

"John."

I might only have one match/But I can make an explosion

"Sherlock?!"

This is my fight song (Hey!)

Take back my life song (Hey!)

Prove I'm alright song (Hey!)

My powers turned on

Starting right now I'll be strong (I'll be strong)

I'll play might fight song

And I don't really care if nobody else believes

They kiss and kiss and kiss, drunk on the miracles they hold in their arms.

'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me

As Sherlock points to John's mustache and wonders, "Are you going to keep that?", both men feel a little as though they finally have their wings.

No, I've still got a lot of fight left in me.

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out on Tumblr: http://221blinkandyouredead.tumblr.com


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